New Moon in Leo: Inspiration for the Fires of Lughnasadh

'Lughnasadh' by Danu Forest

New Moon in Leo: Inspiration for the Fires of Lughnasadh

Moon conjunct Sun- 7/31/19 @ 10:11pm CDT

This New Moon, the beginning of the Grain Moon cycle, initiates a new season we celebrate with fire festivals. The Four Fire Festivals that celebrate our seasons are Imbolc (Winter becoming Spring), Beltane (Spring becoming Summer), Lughnasadh (Summer becoming Fall), and Samhain (Fall becoming Winter). In the Northern Hemisphere, we enter the Fall (firing up the beginnings of Harvest)...while in the Southern Hemisphere, they enter the Spring (firing up the beginnings of Renewal). No matter where we are on Earth, this is a time of giving and receiving gratitude for what has transformed throughout the past season. Our friends in the Southern Hemisphere have endured the Long Nights and we in the North have endured the Strong Sun. This doesn’t mean we don’t see the effects of the cold or the heat at these times. But this is the promise of the new phase entering our awareness. That is what we celebrate when we connect to these Earthly cycles.

Lughnasadh art by Paul Sims

Many of my ancestors knew this Festival of the First Harvest as Lughnasadh, a celebration of the Sun King, Lugh. In honor of this festival my family and I celebrate from sunset of July 31^st to sunset of August 7^th, I call the lunar cycle in August the Grain Moon. In the homelands of my Earthwalk in this body of mine...this Moon has names like Green Corn Moon or Dog Days Moon (referring to the days when Sirius, the Dog Star, amplifies the Sun’s radiance). These names resonate as well, in relation to what I learn from Earth and Sky where I live.

In the Grain Moon cycle, we begin to harvest the fruits of our labor under the fixed fire of the Sun in mid-Leo. On August 7^th, Sun reaches 15 degrees of Leo...which is Celestial Lughnasadh. This is why the Kavi family celebrates this festival of fire for the first week of August, rather than just one calendar day.

This Lughhasadh (pronounced LU-na-sa, and often spelled ‘Lunasa’ too), my husband and I are embarking on a ‘Wagons West’ road trip with our kids to visit family in Oregon. This is also a 10 year anniversary trip, where we’ll be returning to one of the destinations of our Honeymoon road trip down the West Coast. Our kids haven’t been there with us yet, so they’ll be celebrating an initiatory journey with us as their guides. As we camp under the stars each night along our journey to Oregon, we’ll be sharing gratitude for the blessings of the season.

While we are all entering this New Moon in different ways, each experience brings something to celebrate. In light of the Solar sign of Leo, I encourage you to tap into inspired creativity and joyful self-expression.

Mercury stations Direct several minutes after Moon conjuncts Sun, and invites the Collective Mind to take pause before re-directing our thoughts forward in new ways. Here, we are focused on the message in Cancer 24 that was first activated on June 20^th. Now we see it in a new light, quieting our minds around it and allowing it to sink in. This wisdom we received in our Mercury Retrograde loop back from Leo to Cancer (between July 7^th and August 31^st) now plays out through the next two weeks to integrate the ideas from June 20^th to July 7^th that needed revision.

'Message in a Bottle' by Astrid Reiger

In our Leo New Moon/Cancer Mercury Station focus (as July becomes August), we reflect upon how we grew in heart-centered wisdom this past season (which included powerful eclipses of the Sun and Moon). We’ll have much to discuss with our loved ones, but it is also wise to hold space for the mind to find stillness. In this meditative pause, we are receiving a powerful message from the Universe. Whatever your piece of the message, in the coming weeks you will be bringing it forward into the rewards (or renewal) of this season.

Two symbols are prevalent at this time, that of our luminaries in Leo 9 and that of Mercury stationed in Cancer 24. Below, the Sabian Symbols of these degrees are illuminated...but there are other cosmic vibrations in play at this time as well.

Venus in Leo 5 is conjunct this New Moon, bringing to this lunar cycle a new way of relating with what we love and value as our Collective Feminine transforms behind the Sun. This fiery Leo stellium of Moon-Sun-Venus is in a fire trine to Chiron Retrograde in Aries 6, connecting a harmonious channel for healing with Self-Love.

The Leo Stellium is also in a fixed square to Uranus in Taurus 7. This is the degree Uranus is slowly pausing in now to eventually station retrograde on August 11^th. In its higher vibrations, this activation of Uranus with Venus and the New Moon can bring enlightening revelations about the spiritual source of the power within our earthly bodies. Earth (Taurus) and Fire (Leo) activates what inspires us to move and create in the world around us. This square challenges us to put such inspiration into physical manifestation. Lower vibrations of this fixed square can involve stubborn resistance to necessary change squaring off with a restless dissatisfaction with how things are...a recipe for volatility. But, ultimately, this is a highly creative and innovative vibration. It is best used in ways that inspire us to do what needs done throughout the Grain Moon.

Moon and Sun in Leo 9

Installation art by Dale Chihuly at Omaha's Joslyn Art Museum

The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon is ‘glass blowers’. This is a symbol of bringing inspiration into new form. Glass blowers take the physical remains of the past (sand), heat it the activating fires of transformation, and shape it into a new form with the breath of life force energy.

This artistic process originated with the Syrians around the 1^st century BCE and has inspired many cultures to create beautiful (as well as useful) glassware.

Photo of Mason Overbey at work
by Kaylyn Hoskins at Fire in the Flatlands

This degree symbol suggests that we use our skills and the tools available to breathe life into whatever project we are initiating in this Grain Moon cycle. Whether we are taking grains of sand to create glass, grains of the first harvest to create bread, or grains of ideas to create something new in our lives...allow yourself to be inspired.

I have had the pleasure of watching a friend create beautiful pieces of glass, and what was most apparent was the focus it took to bring this process to a finished product. A whole festival was moving and sounding off around him, yet he was able to focus in on his craft with expert concentration. Focus is a Latin word which means ‘hearth’...which again brings up the fire of inspiration. Focus is also exactly what Mercury brings us when stationing to re-direct.

Mercury in Cancer 24

The Sabian Symbol for this degree is ‘a woman and two men, castaways on a small island in the South Seas’. In this pause, we are contemplating the road ahead. We have some options to consider. We may feel pressed for immediate response, but there is need for this reflective pause. In order to move forward, we will be integrating the emotional, mental, and spiritual parts of our minds toward an inter-dependent resolution.

For those feeling this Mercury station strongest...there may be some triangulation dynamics to understand, or some decision looming that is as weighty as choosing between two equally dear, but individually different, lovers. As the Interior Conjunction of Sun and Mercury on the 21st illuminated, the purpose of this Mercury revisit is to see a different perspective as we weigh our options. Moving forward, in the epilogue portion of Mercury’s retrograde journey, we will be integrating these lessons as Mercury starts regaining forward movement.  First we must quiet the mind and sync in to its medicine.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Full Moon / Partial Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn: Old Mistakes are Habits to Break

Full Moon / Partial Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn:

Old Mistakes are Habits to Break

Moon opposite Sun @ 4:38pm CDT on 7-16-19

We opened this Eclipse Portal two weeks ago with a call for laughter toward the illusion of separation...a very effective way to dispel the myths of that shadow.  However, there are some things even a Sacred Clown won't laugh at...and we were faced with many of them.  In the face of true tragedy, the Sacred Clown offers compassion and guidance toward renewal of spirit.  We may have experienced the sharing of laughter, or we may have experienced the sharing of tears.  For some, it was both of those medicines.  What has been most important is what we shared of this experience with others.  For some, it was life-changing.  As the Blessing Moon wanes, we continue this compassionate care (for ourselves and others) with a better understanding of the lessons in this time.  These lessons come to full circle at this Lunar Eclipse.

Moon in Capricorn 25 “A store filled with precious oriental rugs”

This Full Blessing Moon carries an eclipsed reflection on tradition and culture. The shadows of material comfort may loom heavy on the horizon. But there is a powerful magic beyond the appearance of our collective shadow. It is grounded wisdom, rooted in ancestral story-weaving, and connects us from Earth to Sky. There is a spiritual dimension to this connection, and one that we can integrate into community in the next 6 months through everyday efforts to provide comfort and understanding in the face of our fears.

This Partial Lunar Eclipse will bring up the shadow of power, and fears of powerlessness. We are already seeing the shadow theme within the eclipse cauldron playing out. It began, in the Total Solar Eclipse in Cancer, with feelings of separation. In our personal lives, many of us may have been feeling lost, isolated, stuck, or just generally uncomfortable during this Eclipse Season. Saturn and Pluto Retrograde at the Capricorn South Node is an enduring process of structural deterioration and renewal in our society as a response to our karmic past. Feeling defeated, but then having to prove otherwise, is part of the collective transfiguration of this time. These feelings have been exacerbated politically by scapegoating those in need of safety and comfort as ‘the other’ who will infringe upon safety and comfort, resulting in rampant xenophobia and racism. What have we been learning about pushing others away? Does it ever help?

This shadow theme carries through to now...when we face the shadow of power. Pluto Retrograde conjunct the Eclipsed Moon heightens the mob mentality and the dark underbelly of our society. Memories of cruelty from past eclipses in this series (Saros 139) have been resurfacing...from propaganda against ethnic groups to the aftermath of racial internment. Why do we humans, as a whole, never fully learn from our most haunting mistakes? 

Art by Susan Seddon Boulet

Many mistakes die with our Ancestors, the Descendants of which are then tasked to carry them onward and transform them with grace. Some of us never learn, as we continue to carry them and let them play out unconsciously through our beliefs and actions. Capricorn Wisdom right now (held by the current Council of Elders: Saturn Rx, Pluto Rx, and Moon...all at their Descending (South) Nodes) says we need to compost those old mistakes into renewal for our Earth. And more of us grow in grace as we feel the wisdom of this guidance. May we all release the grip of the shadows of this season and reveal the medicine within this Eclipse Cauldron we stirred together.

Sun in Cancer 25 “A willful man is overshadowed by a descent of superior power”.

Art by Cameron Gray

In this Eclipse of the Sun’s light reflected by the Moon, we will at first face the shadow within the willful hubris of human attempts at power and success. As our collective shadow falls away again, what is revealed is the blessing of something much greater than us that reminds us of our integral responsibility to care for our Earth. Destiny can be revealed in this light, something that is vital to the welfare of our world. Individually, we will need to peer into this light, through our own shadow, and find ourselves. In that, we find renewal of care and purpose to share this Eclipse medicine with those in need. Each of us has the potential to be a vessel for heart healing. The more of us who accept this, the more of us there are to heal our world.

Sun and Venus are at the Moon’s Ascending (North) Node in Cancer, bringing in the vitality of Love to face the Darkness. This is the medicine of actualizing our potential for Soul Growth. Individually, we have the opportunity to take in what nourishes us. Collectively, we have the opportunity to radiate the essence of Love in our world and heal those old mistakes.

'Birth of Love' by Vladimir Kush

Venusian themes in the compassionate waters of Cancer will be prevalent now as Venus disappears from our view into the rays of the Sun and approaches her own transformation from Morning Star to Evening Star. Following this Lunar Eclipse, Venus will make some very important aspects. Soon after, she will exact her opposition with Saturn Rx. This is an important vibration at this Full Moon that asks us to take responsibility for how we relate, and make a commitment to Love even through hardship. Then Venus conjuncts the North Node, activating the Soul’s Path. Next comes a trine to Neptune Rx where we can harmonize in compassionate, creative waters. Then Venus comes into opposition with Pluto, to accept transformation with grace...followed by her conjunction with Mercury Rx to respond with caring communication in new ways.

All of these post-eclipse Venus in Cancer lessons are with retrogrades. We are challenged to face our past with a loving perspective so that we may find the heart of the matter and embrace it. It isn’t easy, but necessary. This is the hidden blessing within this Blessing Moon. As we discover it for ourselves, may we help others to find it in the coming months.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse in Cancer: The Blessing in Disguise

Solar Eclipse painting by Sue Halstenberg

New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse in Cancer: 

 The Blessing in Disguise

Moon conjunct Sun @ 2:16pm CDT on July 2^nd, 2019

This piece is dedicated to my friend and teacher, Dan Furst, who passed away on June 23^rd. He would have had a brilliant piece of wisdom to share through video on this Solar Eclipse, as he embodied the medicine of the Sacred Clown/Thunder Shaman well.

Dan Furst in Japan playing Kaminari, The Thunder God (1988)

The Eclipse Cauldron opens at the start of this Blessing Moon cycle. Other names for this lunar month are the Buck Moon or the Thunder Moon. This New Moon will be a potent one to bring forth your intentions and drop them into the cauldron to brew. The Thunder Shaman and the Deer Medicine of this cycle give power to this mix of energies and provide their blessings toward pure intent.

During Eclipse Season, what we encounter continues to be a theme that plays out for another half year until the next eclipse. However, it also carries a theme that returns every 18 years. Each time, we have an opportunity to learn something new of this energy.

What is the blessing in what may appear to be a curse in this greater cycle? A brief look into some of the stories of this eclipse series may enlighten us to a larger theme, while focusing in on the degree of this eclipse can show the more specific medicine that can help us move through our collective karma.

Saros 127 Eclipse: A Tale of Two Brothers

If we go back to the last total eclipse in this series, in 2001, many of us will remember a tale of two towers that followed. If we go back to the eclipse in this series with the longest duration, in 1532, there is a tale of two brothers that lead up to the disintegration of the Inca Empire that year. The Inca Civil War, a war between brothers Huascar and Atahualpa, was a precursor to this eclipse in 1532. By the end of it, each were captured and killed. That is simplifying a very important story, but I encourage you to read other accounts of it if you haven’t already. It holds many clues to our current return of this eclipse, and the disintegration of power that is happening now.

In this eclipse energy, there is an underlying theme of separational extremes...often pulling at the roots of family and homeland with fear and hostility (the shadow of Cancer energy, where this and the previous 127 eclipse took place). In each opportunity to face this shadow, we have a choice. The more we choose to tune into the balance of power that togetherness brings us, the more we will see it reflected in our outside world. Of course, it is difficult to hold that frequency of love and compassion while faced with this shadow. It is much easier to fall into the traps that divide us and disintegrate our own power.

This Saros 127 Series brings us to the Ascending Node of the Moon, the North Node. Here, the Collective Soul has an opportunity to take in the very medicine that heals the greatest rifts of our time...and to learn something new and integral to our Soul Story. North Node medicine is not comfortable to swallow. Often, it appears as something we’re most afraid of...our fears of the unknown. And yet it’s actually the thing we need most to move the karmic entanglement out through the Descending Node. During this eclipse we have Saturn Retrograde, Lord of Karma, at the South (Descending) Node of the Moon. We may be dealing with some heavy restrictions in our ability to let go of what is blocking us. Saturn provides us some of our hardest work in his lessons, but it is always in effort to guide us to the most sustainable rewards.

Because shadow themes will reveal themselves from past 18-year cycles, we can anticipate a personal theme before we encounter the new lesson. In the window of converging timelines with this eclipse, what reveals itself in your awareness will be calling your soul to recapitulate.

Moon and Sun in Cancer 11

George Carlin, one of my favorite comedians...
one of Dan's favorites too.

The Sabian Symbol of this Solar Eclipse is ‘a clown caricaturing well-known personalities’. In a time of such seriousness and drama, Sacred Clown medicine is key. This is Heyoka bringing in the lessons of Great Spirit through humor and opposites. This is the Trickster showing us how we trick ourselves. In Tibetan Buddhism, this is the Crazy Wisdom the guru adopts to shock students out of fixed cultural and psychological patterns. This degree highlights the path of the Thunder Shaman, who teaches through contrary humor and exaggerated extremes of order vs. chaos.

Take a moment to check in with yourself...is your perception of current matters so serious it stresses you out? Or are you wearing the guise of the clown too often in a way that hides your true feelings behind smiles?

Either way, the Sacred Clown medicine of this Solar Eclipse will provide the opposite balance for us...and a deep belly laugh at what is revealed can open us to great medicine. Try not to get too frustrated by the opposition to your current state of feeling...it is best greeted as an honor to have yourself revealed as part of the Cosmic Joke. It shakes us awake and reveals our truth...allowing for authentic action through compassion.

This Blessing Moon begins with a watery, intuitive connection that involves past feelings as well as new encounters. Our choices bring lasting effect throughout the next half of our year. There is a helpful sextile to the asteroid Vesta in Taurus, which brings an opportunity to have good rapport with the Cosmic Priestess of Hearth and Home at this time. Vesta’s wisdom is one of focus and dedication, which meets the Sacred Clown wisdom to illuminate the vitality of Community.

There is also a Cardinal Grand Cross with our luminaries and the asteroids, which inclines a crisis that requires a balancing act. In opposition to this Solar Eclipse is Persephone retrograde in Capricorn. In squares to this axis is Ophelia in Aries opposing Eros-Iris together in Libra. If any planets in your natal chart are in 8-12 degrees of Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn), you’ll be feeling these energies play out more strongly than others. It may pull you to all four corners as a call to balance the opposites and center.

With all of these mythic storylines of the asteroids at play, there may be a lot of drama pulling us to our extremes and pushing us to take action...so the luminaries advise tapping into some comedy to balance the drama.

Felix Fawkes Kavi today on his half-birthday,
sitting in our Green Man Tree.
Felix is our own little Contrary Clown.
Ask him to smile, and he'll give you a funny face.
Ask him for a funny face, though, and he'll give you his most serious look.

"Humor is a reminder that no matter how high the throne one sits on, one sits on one's bottom." ~Taki

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi